


Ashes

by Minos_forlorn



Series: Though we grit our teeth [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: 4 am talks about immortality and mothers, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Nightmares, puts a crow between teeth - it's a metaphor you see
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:00:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28428939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Minos_forlorn/pseuds/Minos_forlorn
Summary: Annie can't sleep, so she goes hang out with Pieck.
Relationships: Annie Leonhart & Pieck
Series: Though we grit our teeth [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2067876
Kudos: 12





	Ashes

**Author's Note:**

> This is set in an AU where RBA chose to return to Marley 2 years into the Paradis mission.

The third vial has a delayed reaction – just when she thinks there won’t be one, it grips her by the throat. It burns only for a moment. It’s like crystals on her skin, sharp, similar to the Armor, but this one leaves her shivering from the cold. Suddenly, she’s far away, fingers clawing at the ground in an attempt to stay rooted. When her vision clears, she is lying on the floor. The icy eyes of an army general peer down at her. He’s talking; she can feel his breath on her face but can’t make sense of his words. She feels fingers wrap themselves around her arm and yank her upwards.

Her muscles ache long after she wakes up. 

It’s early, maybe an hour before dawn. Annie decides there’s no use in trying to sleep, so she throws on her hoodie and climbs out of the tent, pulling the hood over her head. It’s quiet now, almost peaceful, but she knows it won’t last. Soon, there will be movement and shouts and gunfire. 

She finds the Cart titan way in the back, curled up under a tree like a big weird cat. It looks to be asleep, though Annie knows that’s not the case. Pieck told her once that she’s always awake when in titan form; the closest she gets to sleeping is this vegetative state, conserving energy while keeping a half-closed eye out for any danger. 

“You’re up early,” she remarks as Annie walks up to her. The Cart’s voice still sends a shiver down her spine.  So does everything else about the Cart, actually. The eyes are undeniably Pieck’s, but without those, you’d have a hard time convincing anyone it’s the same girl. 

“Had a nightmare,” she says, sitting down beside her.

“Memories? From before?”

“I’m... not sure. Might have been my own.”

“Ah.” She turns her head a bit to look at her. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

“Okay.”

She never wants to talk about it, doesn’t think she ever will. And Pieck never presses her about it, but she still asks every time. Annie used to find it annoying, still does sometimes, but has since come to appreciate the gesture. 

There’s a squawk nearby that catches her attention – a pair of crows pecking at something in the ground, blissfully unaware of what surrounds them. 

“They say,” Pieck starts slowly, “that crows were made from ashes, and that that’s why they’re black.”

Annie looks up. “What?”

“From the ashes of a phoenix, specifically.”

“Phoenix?”

“A firebird, from old legends. When it dies, it combusts and is then reborn from the ashes. They say it grew sad one day when it came across the bones of a hawk.”

It’s helping her stay awake, and it’s more interesting than staring at nothing, so Annie indulges her, leaning back against the Cart’s arm. “Why? Did the concept of death upset it? “

“What comes after death, rather. See, every animal leaves its bones behind, except the phoenix. It wanted to leave something behind too, some sort of proof that it existed. Something more concrete than ash.”

“So... crows.”

“That’s right.”

“And here I thought they hatch from eggs.”

Pieck grins. “Well, it’s a story. I’m not even sure if that’s how it goes. I was very little when I heard it.”

Annie considers, as she has done many times before, how different their childhoods were. “Your dad told you stories?”

Pieck rests her head on her folded arms. “My mom.”

Maybe it’s because she’s tired or because it’s a topic that tugs at her heartstrings, but for once she lets herself quietly ask a personal question and hopes she’s not overstepping. “What was your mom like?”

Pieck is quiet for a bit as she stares up ahead, a faraway look in her eyes. “I don’t remember much. I have one photo of her, from their wedding. She smiled a lot, in spite of everything. I know she once nearly gave dad a heart attack by somehow managing to sneak home a bottle of champagne.” 

Picturing a woman with Pieck’s kind smile who tells stories about burning birds and who would be willing to risk it all for some good alcohol, Annie lets out a small huff of laughter. She can’t help but wonder what her own mother might have been like, to result in someone like her. Probably just as cold. “Must have been some champagne.”

Pieck hums. “Knowing my dad, it’s probably still stashed somewhere in the house.”

They both go quiet, listening to the birds chirping up in the tree above as Annie works on putting her thoughts in order.

“Hey,” she meets Pieck’s eye. “Why did the phoenix want to leave proof of its existence? If it never really dies, there shouldn’t be any doubt.”

Pieck seems to consider this for a moment, then slowly fixes her gaze on the horizon again. “Maybe it was more about it wanting to commemorate all its past lives, giving them each a name of sorts in the form of a crow?”

Annie blinks at that. She’s not quite sure if she understands but doesn’t know what else to add. 

Pieck raises her head to the sky. “Sun’s coming up.”

“Is it?” 

“Yes, we’ll be moving out soon.” She peers back down at her. “And you’re sitting here talking to a titan.”

“Well, maybe titans are better than people.”

Pieck makes some sort of guttural sound that could be considered a laugh. She gently grabs the back of Annie’s hoodie and lifts her up to her feet. “You should get back before Magath finds out. Thank you for the company, though. No one ever thinks of the Cart.”

Annie cracks a smile. “I might come back sometime, then. Got any  more weird bird stories to tell?”

“Oh yes,” Pieck says, settling back  down and closing her eyes. “Tons.”

**Author's Note:**

> The season 4 ending song makes my heart ache in a way I cannot explain. I based the phoenix story on it.


End file.
